    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [December 4, 2004]
    [Pages 3044-3045]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    December 4, 2004

        Good morning. Since the attacks of September the 11th, 2001,
    American military forces, intelligence officers, and law enforcement
    officials have defended our country with skill and honor and have taken
    the fight to terrorists abroad. Here at home, we have created the
    Department of Homeland Security, strengthened our defenses, and improved
    the collection and analysis of vital intelligence. Yet we must do more.
        To protect America, our country needs the best possible
    intelligence. The recommendations of the 9/11 Commission chart a clear,
    sensible path toward needed reforms to our Government's intelligence
    capabilities. I strongly support most of those recommendations, and my
    administration is already implementing the vast majority of those that
    can be enacted without a vote of Congress. In August, I established the
    National Counterterrorism Center, where all the available intelligence
    on terrorist threats is brought together in one place. Just last month,
    I issued two directives instructing the FBI and CIA to hire new
    personnel and to press forward with the transformation of these agencies
    to meet the threats of our time.
        But other key changes require new laws. For the past few months, I
    have been working with the Congress to produce an intelligence reform
    bill that will make America more secure. Congress made good

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    progress toward a strong new law. Provisions have been included to
    strengthen our ability to arrest those who aid and train terrorists, to
    hold dangerous terrorists who are awaiting trial, and to prosecute those
    who seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
        The most important provisions of any new bill must create a strong,
    focused new management structure for our intelligence services and break
    down the remaining walls that prevent the timely sharing of vital threat
    information among Federal agencies and with relevant State, local, and
    private sector personnel. Our intelligence efforts need a Director of
    National Intelligence who will oversee all of the foreign and domestic
    activities of the intelligence community. The legislation I support
    preserves the existing chain of command and leaves America's 15
    intelligence agencies, organizations, and offices in their current
    Departments. Yet the Director of National Intelligence will oversee all
    of America's intelligence efforts to help ensure that our Government can
    find and stop terrorists before they strike. To be effective, this
    position must have full budget authority over our intelligence agencies.
    The many elements of our intelligence community must function
    seamlessly, with an overriding mission to protect America from attack by
    terrorists or outlaw regimes.
        I will continue to work with the Congress to reach an agreement on
    this intelligence bill. I urge Members of Congress to act next week so I
    can sign these needed reforms into law.
        We have made great progress against the terrorists who seek to harm
    our Nation. We are safer, but we are not yet safe. The enemy is still
    plotting, and America must respond with urgency. We must do everything
    necessary to confront and defeat the terrorist threat, and that includes
    intelligence reform. By remaining focused and determined in these
    efforts, we will strengthen the safety of our citizens and defend our
    Nation from harm.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on December 3 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on December 4. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    December 3 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his
    remarks, the President referred to the National Commission on Terrorist
    Attacks Upon the United States
    (9/11 Commission). The Office of the Press Secretary also released a
    Spanish language transcript of this address.